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An interesting imbalance of power
Dec. 10th, 2007 02:50 pmAt my gym, when I'm giving out free chair massages, I've noticed some interesting things.
Firstly: it is mostly men we need as our target audience, partially because I suspect the decor at our spa doesn't match standards of other spas, and women are exposed to so much massage and luxury in the course of their daily maintenance.
Want a massage? There's a therapist at your nail salon, a hair stylist who'll massage your head, etc. Men, on the other hand, don't get their nails done or their hair styled (as much), nor is touch between men socially acceptable... and thus, when their gym offers massage, they're incredibly happy to be touched. Men tend to earn more than women, on average. They don't care as much about the decor. Therefore they should be the perfect clients...
But...it is hard to get men in to the spa. Why? This is what happens when I give a chair massage to a guy. He sighs happily, and says, "no one has ever made me feel that way before... you felt like you had four hands!" I smile, and say, "that's fantastic! I'm so glad. I hope you'll come visit me." He says, "okay, my girlfriend's birthday is coming up soon, and I'll buy her a massage."
However much we say otherwise, complaining about men earning more and women being slaves to fashion or what-have-you, women sure do seem to end up coming out okay.
Firstly: it is mostly men we need as our target audience, partially because I suspect the decor at our spa doesn't match standards of other spas, and women are exposed to so much massage and luxury in the course of their daily maintenance.
Want a massage? There's a therapist at your nail salon, a hair stylist who'll massage your head, etc. Men, on the other hand, don't get their nails done or their hair styled (as much), nor is touch between men socially acceptable... and thus, when their gym offers massage, they're incredibly happy to be touched. Men tend to earn more than women, on average. They don't care as much about the decor. Therefore they should be the perfect clients...
But...it is hard to get men in to the spa. Why? This is what happens when I give a chair massage to a guy. He sighs happily, and says, "no one has ever made me feel that way before... you felt like you had four hands!" I smile, and say, "that's fantastic! I'm so glad. I hope you'll come visit me." He says, "okay, my girlfriend's birthday is coming up soon, and I'll buy her a massage."
However much we say otherwise, complaining about men earning more and women being slaves to fashion or what-have-you, women sure do seem to end up coming out okay.
